i am with abbey's debt management scheme as a result of being slightly over my £850 OD limit then snowballing charges pushing me to over £1100, my OD limit facility was then removed which left me with one hell of a bill to pay. abbey rang me to tell them i have 28 days to clear before it gets passed on to a collection agency, i told them i had heard about new laws passed by OFT and didn't want to deal with my account until i had all the information to hand, i was told they were not acknowledging the new laws yet as they were still on a 'fact finding mission' to see whether heir charges were unlawful or not and until then i had to proceed as normal. i have gone through my last 12 months charges and they total over £600 so don't see why i should pay them money they owe me but i am worried with the collection agency threats. what should i do? please please help!

only heard about claiming back bank charges today so rang the abbey and requested my last 12 statements. i do not have the £10 in my a/c to pay for remaining 5 years as it has been passed over to debt management. this was because abbey removed my £850 OD because i couldn't pay charges incurred from going over my agreed limit after a spell in unemployment. this left me approximately £1000 overdrawn. i then started working again and began paying £400 per month into my a/c as advised by abbey (non-negotiable) but would still have to pay a set fee every month for being OD. i then changed jobs for personal reasons to a lower payed job (ironically temping as a cashier in an abbey branch!) and was told they would keep £200 per month (once again non-negotiable) from my wages to start repaying my overdraft but would still continue to charge me for being overdrawn. 2 steps forward 1 step back. would you recommend i open another a/c elsewhere so i can have full access to my own money and send correspondance to the abbey explaining i require the remaining 5 year history and will not be dealing with my abbey a/c again until all disputes of unlawful charges taken are settled? on going into debt management with the abbey i have not been allowed any bank cards or cheque books or DD's and this has had a knock on effect on most aspects of my life falling behind on phone payments and loan payments also. obviously i accept alot of responsibility for these proliferral missed payments but it is very difficult to operate my life with a bank a/c with no beneficial facilities and serves only to swallow any monies paid in. Sorry for my lengthy question but unsure of my rights and find it difficult to read and fully understand all the lengthy texts spread out over these forums. still very grateful for all the information posted, always good to know there are people on the side of the little man! looking forward to any response. ali581011

only heard about claiming back bank charges